Copyright 2012 Aileen M. Echiverri-Cohen - University of Washington
Copyright 2012 Aileen M. Echiverri-Cohen - University of Washington Copyright 2012 Aileen M. Echiverri-Cohen - University of Washington
Alterations in Inhibition Underlying Treatment Effects and Recovery in PTSD Aileen M. Echiverri-Cohen A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy University of Washington 2012 Reading Committee Lori A. Zoellner, Chair Robert Kohlenberg Theodore Beauchaine Program Authorized to Offer Degree: Psychology
University of Washington Abstract Alterations in Inhibition Underlying Treatment Effects and Recovery in PTSD Aileen M. Echiverri-Cohen Chair of Supervisory Committee: Professor Lori A. Zoellner Psychology Department Inhibitory deficits expressed as difficulty ignoring irrelevant stimuli in the pursuit of goal- directed behavior may be crucial in our understanding of information processing in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and may serve as a fundamental mechanism of the disorder. If inhibitory deficits underlie the cognitive abnormalities in PTSD, then inhibition should improve with treatment; however, no published studies have examined changes in inhibition following PTSD treatment. Evidence of inhibitory processes as central to extinction suggests that exposure-based treatments may act directly on the inhibitory deficits implicated in PTSD, with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) facilitating serotonergic neurotransmission to bring about neurochemical changes in the fear circuitry. Accordingly, the present study examined changes in inhibition at pre-and post-treatment in individuals with chronic PTSD. Two inhibitory measures, attentional blink, a task that examines the temporal sequence of inhibition, and prepulse inhibition of startle, a behavioral measure that indexes the strength of inhibition, were used to
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- Page 13 and 14: Lavie et al., 2004; Vogel, Woodman,
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- Page 23 and 24: not report normal or corrected-to-n
- Page 25 and 26: Sheehan Disability Scale (SDS; Shee
- Page 27 and 28: There were four types of startle st
- Page 29 and 30: videotapes of SER sessions. For thi
- Page 31 and 32: magnitude on the no prepulse trials
- Page 33 and 34: Spinella & Miley, 2004) were examin
- Page 35 and 36: For the treatment modality and trea
- Page 37 and 38: Data Analytic Strategy Treatment Mo
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- Page 43 and 44: from PE than those that made less i
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- Page 47 and 48: inhibitory inputs and ultimately de
- Page 49 and 50: shown to modify attentional process
- Page 51 and 52: and may not be regained. Indeed, ol
<strong>University</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Washington</strong><br />
Abstract<br />
Alterations in Inhibition Underlying Treatment Effects and Recovery in PTSD<br />
<strong>Aileen</strong> M. <strong>Echiverri</strong>-<strong>Cohen</strong><br />
Chair <strong>of</strong> Supervisory Committee:<br />
Pr<strong>of</strong>essor Lori A. Zoellner<br />
Psychology Department<br />
Inhibitory deficits expressed as difficulty ignoring irrelevant stimuli in the pursuit <strong>of</strong> goal-<br />
directed behavior may be crucial in our understanding <strong>of</strong> information processing in posttraumatic<br />
stress disorder (PTSD) and may serve as a fundamental mechanism <strong>of</strong> the disorder. If inhibitory<br />
deficits underlie the cognitive abnormalities in PTSD, then inhibition should improve with<br />
treatment; however, no published studies have examined changes in inhibition following PTSD<br />
treatment. Evidence <strong>of</strong> inhibitory processes as central to extinction suggests that exposure-based<br />
treatments may act directly on the inhibitory deficits implicated in PTSD, with selective<br />
serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) facilitating serotonergic neurotransmission to bring about<br />
neurochemical changes in the fear circuitry. Accordingly, the present study examined changes in<br />
inhibition at pre-and post-treatment in individuals with chronic PTSD. Two inhibitory measures,<br />
attentional blink, a task that examines the temporal sequence <strong>of</strong> inhibition, and prepulse<br />
inhibition <strong>of</strong> startle, a behavioral measure that indexes the strength <strong>of</strong> inhibition, were used to